Lock nut



` ug. 15, 195.0l H. R. HARDING 2,518,467

. LOCK NUT Filed May 2; 1947 Patented Aug. l5, 1950 vUNIrsp .STATESPATENT oFFlciE lLOCK NUT Hiram R. ..."Harding, eBaltimore, .'Md.,.assigner fof fifty :per `cent Vto lHarry E. Karr, Baltimore Gounty,.Md., and .twenty-five percent to. Logan C. Harding, Hopewell, Va.

fApplication May-'2, 1947', Serial No. '745,582

lClaim.v (Cl. 151-19) 1 .This invention relates to nuts and .moreppar-.ticularly to those-,of the.self-flockingwclasses;

:In a particular ,form of vnutfof a self-locking type, Ythe form followsthe general structuredisclosed in ithis applicationfandhas yforaifeature,

the use of an auxiliary nutfconnected with the main nut to be Lused :ona Ybolt and Alocked there- 'on. They are relatively loose but attachableto the Lsame bolt. Themain nut is screwed on and followed by theauxiliary nut serving to wedge on the bolt tightly-as it is 7pulled up.This locks .bothnuts securely. This type isoutlined inthe copendinginvention by the same inventor -having SerialNumber Y665,085 filed .onApril 26, 1946, now abandoned; While 'this device is effective Yingeneral, it has the characteristic` o'f having its upper lock nutsectiony so shaped that it cancock slightly when .placedlon a bolt.4permits a certainramount ofrslip. This slip :is desirable in manyinstances. However in order to afford a more effective lock, thisinvention modifies the construction -inwthe coacting portions of the`nut and the auxiliary nut 'to mak-e it lock more rigidly; This visaccomplished by providing a formation that is straight and fiat and hasa large straight surface contact between the portions lconcerned, thatis more likely to provide a, method of keeping the lock-nut aligned withthe nut to prevent the lock-nut portion from becoming cocked in the nutproper and .prevent its proper alignment on the bolt it is used on.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a new andimproved self-locking nut for bolt attachment that will avoid one ormore of the disadvantages and limitations of the prior art.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvednut and bolt attachment, that will wedge very effectively into a selflocking arrangement without requiring an increase in the cost of thearticle and the efforts required to use it.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedlock nut'device in which its lock-nut portion will always be alignedlongitudinally with the nut portion proper.

Other objects will become apparent as the invention is more fully setforth.

For a better understanding of the invention and the objects thereofreference is made to the appended drawings and the following descriptionwherein a particular form of the invention is described and detailed byway of example, while the claim emphasizes the scope of the invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan viewof `a lo'cknut, .embodying this invention, and

liigurez is `a side `elevation of Figure .1, with :partsgbrokenxaway'toshow its internal'construction.

Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts'throughout thedrawings.

In thedrawings, La main nut body Ill `isfmacle of a hexagonal formhaving one end portion screw-threaded for ea bolt thread vII. comingfrom one end Landleading to an yenlarged/chamber I2 at the other endportion. The wall of the enlarged chamber I2 is not Ascrew-.threaded butserves to hold an auxiliary nut .I4 which has` internal screw-threadingI5 throughout similar to that of the threads II axially through it; Theauxiliary Lnut `has a tapered circular flange I6, which is smaller atitslower end '28 vthan the upper corner where it .joins -the face Il of the.flange I6. The peripheral surface IB `of .the flange I5 `is .madeslightly tapered so as to conform with the slanting andy .inwardlytapering wall (I9 of the chamber I2. As the auxiliary vnut -Ili' 'forced.further `down Lfby screwing on a bolt into the chamber I2 the taperedperiphery and walls I6 and I8 serve to wedge the auxiliary nut tighteran-d prevents loosening of the nut IB. The middle portion 2| of theauxiliary nut I4 is reduced in diameter to less than the face I'I so asto permit the sliding up and down along an inwardly projected ledge orrim 24 formed in the nut I0 above the chamber I2. The portion 2| iscylindrical as indicated, and is topped by a hexagonal head 22, which isdesigned to be engaged and operated by a wrench. spaced slots 23 are cutlongitudinally into the auxiliary nut I4 so as to enable it to beresiliently compressed inwardly and thus bite more tightly into the boltwith which it is used as the nut bodies are screwed on further. Theslots 23 run in as far as the head 22, and are therefore in the thinnestportion of the auxiliary nut I4. The head 22 by its extra size preventsthe auxiliary nut I4 from splitting when pulled-up tightly on the bolt.

The particular feature in the invention is iny In addition the squarecorners of face I1 engaging on the straight internal ringed surface 25indicated, between a ledge 2li andthe tapering surface portion i9 tendalso to align the auxiliary nut i4 with the main nut body i0. Anindicator E6 is used on the auxiliary nut I4 and nut body iii to bringthe threads on the body i and stub la in alignment with each other, whenthey are to be screwed on the bolt.

The auxiliary nut ifi is assembled to the nut body l0 by pressing theslit skirt portions of the nut i4 together. This inwardly forces theilange I6 and face It' past the ledge 24 and locks the parts togetherbut with a certain amount of looseness that permits their adjustmentlongitudinally.

threads in the auxiliary nut and is screwed therein. After the body iiihas reached its limiting location on the bolt, the auxiliary nut M isscrewed on further until the taper1 facesA I6 and 'I9 force the lowerportion of the auxiliary nut to become wedged closer on the boltthreads, so that by the time the bottom surface 28 of the auxiliary nutcomes in closer contact with face 2 of the nut i0 the locking nut actionis severest or tightest.

While but one general form of the invention, is shown in the drawingsand described in the specifications, it is not desired to limit thisapplication for patent to this particular form, as it is lappreciatedthe other forms of construction could .be made that would use the same`principles and 4come within the scope of the appended claim.

, Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

A lock nut unit comprising a main nut body having a polygonal contour,said body having two aligned internal chambers, one of said chambersbeing threaded for attachment to a bolt and extending inwardly from oneend face of said body, the other chamber extending betweeny saidthreaded portion and the other end face of the body and being wider thanthe irst After the nut body i6 is'4 screwed on to the bolt, the boltreaches thel chamber so as to provide an abutment in the meeting planeof said chambers, said second chamber having walls tapering outwardlyfrom said abutment and terminating in a straight cylindrical portion,bounded by an inwardly projecting circular ledge in the plane of the endface of the body, and an auxiliaryA nut having a polygonal head and adepending cylindrical portion, said cylindrical portion terminating inan outward annular shoulder extending in a horizontal plane, a straightcylindrical portion beneath said shoulder and a tapering portionextending inwardly from said last mentioned cylindrical portion, saiddepending cylindrical portion, annular shoulder and straight cylindricalportion of said auxiliary nut being adapted to i'lt in the wider chamberof said main nut body and cooperate with the corresponding portionsthereof to positively align the nuts together and prevent tilting of theauxiliary nut within said wider chamber, said aforementioned abutmentserving as a stop for the auxliary nut, said auxiliary nut beinginternally threaded and adapted to cooperate with the bolt on which themain nut is mounted and said auxiliary nut having slits through its sidewalls so that it may be forced past the aforesaid ledge on the main nut.

HIRAM R. HARDING.

REFERENCES CITED 'The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES 'PATENTS Number Name Date 1,315,160 Ross Sept. 2, 19191,384,019 Johnston July 5, 1921 2,449,846 Gilman Sept. 21, 1948 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 250,362 Great Britain Apr. 15, 19261,384,019 Italy July 5, 1921

